Simone Kennedy (politician)

Next to her roles for the Christian Union nationally, Kennedy became active for the party in her new hometown of Amersfoort. She initially assisted its parliamentary group in the municipal council, and she participated in the March 2006 municipal elections, in which the Christian Union won three seats.[2][18] Kennedy entered the council on 18 April 2006, when Hans van Daalen vacated his seat to become an alderman on behalf of the party in the new municipal executive.[19][20] Kennedy became her party's spokesperson for urban management, education, housing, the economy, culture, tourism, recreation, and sports.[21] As a councilor, she opposed an artistic porn festival that was planned to be organized in the city in the spring of 2007. She argued that it should not be held in a public space to prevent people from being unintentionally confronted with sexually explicit content.[22] To withhold subsidies, she co-filed a motion to not designate the event as cultural. It did not receive support from a council majority, but the subsidies were not granted due to a late application.[23] During her term, Kennedy also drew media attention for her knitting during council meetings. She told that she had moved from knitting below her desk to above it following positive reactions.[24] However, Kennedy announced in March 2007 that she would stop the practice to prevent leaving a disinterested impression.[25]

Kennedy was re-elected in March 2010 as the Christian Union's second candidate behind Van Daalen, while the party retained its three seats.[26][27] Kennedy was chosen as the council's vice chair, meaning that she chaired meetings in the absence of the mayor.[28] The new governing coalition consisted of VVD, GroenLinks, D66, CDA, and the local BPA party, but the last of those stepped out in December. The Christian Union joined the remaining coalition parties seven weeks later after Kennedy had represented her party during the negotiations. She simultaneously succeeded Menno Tigelaar as the leader of the parliamentary group in the council, as he joined the municipal executive.[29][30] As a coalition party, the Christian Union voted in favor of a round of spending cuts totaling €20 million. However, during budget talks, Kennedy complained about savings on basic services. In particular, she highlighted the removal of swimming lessons from the primary school curriculum, the closings of library locations and neighborhood centers, and the abolishing of transportation for disabled students for distances below 7 km (4.3 mi) as painful.[31][32][33] The coalition fell again in December 2012 due to a conflict between VVD and GroenLinks, and a new one was formed that excluded the Christian Union.[34][35]

Kennedy was her party's lead candidate in the March 2014 municipal elections, in which it increased its seat count from three to five.[36][37] The Christian Union entered into a new governing coalition with VVD, D66, and the Labour Party.[38] Kennedy proposed to subsidize couples therapy for disadvantaged people, arguing that poverty and hardship resulting from divorces are a cost to society.[39] The Christian Union also cooperated with three homeless shelters to connect homeless youth with families willing to take them into their home.[40] In 2017, a majority of the council voted in favor of a joint proposal with the CDA to make it possible for troublemakers to be placed in a temporary house. However, some questions about its legality were later raised, as the measure would not require a judge.[41][42]

In 2015, Europe experienced an increased number of migrants entering the continent – partly as a result of the Syrian civil war. In an opinion article, Kennedy proposed to convert empty office buildings, schools, and healthcare facilities into cohousing units for refugees to prevent increased demand on the housing market. She suggested that they could also temporarily house students, divorced parents, and people early in their career.[43][44] Some councilors criticized the plan, saying it would lead to clashes between different groups and to ghettos in the city.[45] Kennedy herself had taken in a Syrian gender studies professor before the influx of refugees at the suggestion of her husband.[4][46] She created a Facebook group called Gastgezin Amersfoort (Host family Amersfoort) in September 2015 for people interested in housing or volunteering for refugees.[47] It grew to 800 members and became the center of coordinating volunteer work to aid refugees in the city.[4][48] Starting on 30 September, a group of refugees stayed a week in an Amersfoort sports hall. They moved to an empty school building before being relocated on 11 November to an emergency shelter in nearby Soesterberg.[49] She criticized the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA), saying that refugees were only given basic necessities. According to Kennedy, not providing them with language courses, activities, or a purpose destroyed them mentally.[48] Besides, she told that the move to the more permanent location in Soesterberg made it more difficult for volunteers such as Kennedy to enter.[50]

Kennedy announced in May 2016 that she would stop her volunteering for refugees, as she could no longer handle it. She believed that all asylum seekers in Soesterberg were depressed and encouraged others to take on the work.[51] Kennedy did continue some activities, connecting people willing to have refugees stay in their home during the summer holiday.[52] Kennedy received significant media attention for her refugee work, including from national publications.[4][48][50][53]

Kennedy sought a fourth term in the council in the March 2018 municipal elections, again as the Christian Union's lead candidate.[54] The party lost one of its five seats, while it had competition from the Reformed Political Party (SGP) contrary to previous election cycles.[55][56] She did not renominate herself as vice chair of the council after the election.[28] In May 2019, Kennedy announced that she would not run for re-election, citing term limits imposed by the party.[57] She already stepped down as parliamentary leader as of the start of the following year in order to focus on her career and the national election campaign, and she was succeeded by Hans Bol.[58] Her final term ended on 29 March 2022 following municipal elections earlier that month.[59] On her last day in the council, the municipality awarded Kennedy the Sint-Jorispenning – a medal given to people who have contributed majorly to the city.[60][61] She had earlier become a member of the Order of Orange-Nassau in April 2017.[62] She received those honors for her career in local politics as well as for her refugee work and volunteering. Kennedy volunteered at De Kandelaar, a Reformed church; at the Amersfoort food bank; at Stadsring 51, a local credit counseling foundation; and at CJVV, a local football club. She also co-founded the Amersfoort diaconal charity fund in 2013.[60][63]

Following her exit form local politics, Kennedy became a youth care worker for The Salvation Army, and she coordinated the sheltering of Ukrainian refugees following the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a location manager for the municipality. She fulfilled the latter role until November 2022.[64][65]